Shaky Head Vs Texas Rigs

[Bass&PanMan]

Hi all,

Apologies for the basic question but aren't Shaky Head and Texas rigs basically the same thing ?

If not, please let me know what the differences are and what the advantages and disadvantages to each would be.

Thanks

Matthew

[smalljaw67]

They are the same but different and I no it doesn't make sense. A Texas rig consist of a hook, a bullet weight and a soft plastic, the weight can be left free to slide, or it can be pegged. A shaky head is a jig, it is a hook with a fixed weight molded on and then rigged weedless but can also be rigged with the hook exposed as well. That is the big difference, the weight, one can be left slide up and down the line while the other can't. The other thing is Texas rigs are normally done with heavy hooks and 1/4oz or more of weight being used, a shaky head is mostly finesse with smaller worms on light heads with light or medium wire hooks. Now, you can use a light weight, and hook with a finesse worm in a Texas rig or you can use a split shot rig or mojo rig which is a finesse Carolina rig. Finally, a Carolina rig is a Texas rigged worm with  a fixed weight above the hook and bait and just about any rig that consist of a weedless plastic without a weed guard is going to be rigged Texas style, so a shaky head is a jig that you rig a worm on in a weedless fashion which is basically Texas style but not really a Texas rig. I guess you can say a Texas rig is a soft plastic bait rigged on the hook weedless with a bullet weight on the line that can be loose or pegged in place. Texas style just refers to how a soft plastic bait is attached to the hook, and a shaky head is a small jig in which a finesse bait is attached to the jig Texas style. I hope that made sense.

[John G]

Man you sure are buying some nice technique specific gear for not even knowing the difference between a Shakeyhead and a T-Rig. Bass Resource has another section that has a ton of articles and a bunch of videos that could really help you out if you will take the time to read and watch.

[deep]

No, the texas rig weight is free to move up along the line.

[BASSPATROL247]

I thought a shakyhead, was a jig but the actual head was hinged to the hook???

[BASSPATROL247]

Man you sure are buying some nice technique specific gear for not even knowing the difference between a Shakeyhead and a T-Rig. Bass Resource has another section that has a ton of articles and a bunch of videos that could really help you out if you will take the time to read and watch.

Im confused...who's buying technique specific gear?? Or did i miss something?

[John G]

Im confused...who's buying technique specific gear?? Or did i miss something?

Read the NRX Senko Rod Thread a couple of Threads down.

[BASSPATROL247]

Gotchya... ha ha ha

[DirtyDeuceGoose]

Basspatrol, you're referring to a swing jig head. This was popularized with the Biffle Head and allows your plastic to have a more free range of motion.

[BASSPATROL247]

Basspatrol, you're referring to a swing jig head. This was popularized with the Biffle Head and allows your plastic to have a more free range of motion.

Ahhhhh.. i call them wobble heads and assumed shaky heads were another name for them. I love the action you get when you shake the jig but dont move it and it dances stationary...so shaky heads are mushroom heads that stand up when on bottom?

[smalljaw67]

Ahhhhh.. i call them wobble heads and assumed shaky heads were another name for them. I love the action you get when you shake the jig but dont move it and it dances stationary...so shaky heads are mushroom heads that stand up when on bottom?

 

Shaky heads can be round (my favorite), football, or different shapes all together. Most will have a keeper like a screw lock or some sort of pin or barb that will hold the soft plastic bait so the hook can be inserted into the bait in a weedless or Texas style fashion. There are other shaky heads like the VMC Rugby head, and the Strike King Tour grade that don't have a screw or anything coming out of the head to hold the bait, instead the Strike King has a lead barb and the Rugby head has an offset shank allowing a bait to be rigged Texas style weedless.  The shaky head is basically a jig worm, in the north it was common to fish finesse worms on a jig head and the worms were threaded on the jig and fished with an exposed hook, just like fishing a grub on a jig head. Well guys began rigged the jig worm weedless so they could fish it in cover but it was hard to rig it weedless on a jig head and still have the worm stay straight so eventually anglers and lure companies got together and developed ways to rig the worm on the head so it was weedless yet still would hang straight, and the name shaky head was applied because the most popular way to fish it was to drag it a little bit and stop then shake it in place. Wobble heads or swing jigs are completely different, if you go to TW and look under terminal tackle, you'll see an entire section for shaky head jigs.

[BASSPATROL247]

I know what your talking about with the screw lock to hold your bait, i always knew shaky head as a presentation, wich the way describe the presentation is how i fish a swing jig or wobble head as i know them, i also like round jigheads and a straight tail worm but i use jigheads that have a very very thin weed guard thats held in place behind the barb on the hook in cover and fish a floating worm on a jighead with no guard if cover is not too thick.. so in a way either one could be called a shaky head or wobble head since i(and everyone else i assume) fish both jigs the same way... i really like to fish soft plastic paddle tails or swimbaits(wichever you kNow them by) on a wobble head, gives it more action very similar to a chatter bait in how it rolls side to side on retreive...

[smalljaw67]

I know what your talking about with the screw lock to hold your bait, i always knew shaky head as a presentation, wich the way describe the presentation is how i fish a swing jig or wobble head as i know them, i also like round jigheads and a straight tail worm but i use jigheads that have a very very thin weed guard thats held in place behind the barb on the hook in cover and fish a floating worm on a jighead with no guard if cover is not too thick.. so in a way either one could be called a shaky head or wobble head since i(and everyone else i assume) fish both jigs the same way... i really like to fish soft plastic paddle tails or swimbaits(wichever you kNow them by) on a wobble head, gives it more action very similar to a chatter bait in how it rolls side to side on retreive...

 

While wobble heads can be used a number of different ways, the main way to use them is like a crankbait, put your favorite plastic on the hook and slow roll it along bottom.